Poll: Iraq and Afghanistan War Vets Say Military Is Overstretched, Underequipped

VoteVets.org, a political advocacy group founded and funded by veterans, released the first-ever poll today of Iraq and Afghanistan vets. Respondents, most of whom were conservatives, delivered a shocking assessment of the equipment shortages and other hardships facing soldiers on the battlefield. Here are some key findings:

– 63 percent of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans believe the Army and Marine Corps are overextended at this time. 67 percent of Army and Marine veterans believe their forces are overextended.

— 53 percent of respondents said they “did not always know who the enemy was” when they were engaged in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

— 42 percent of the veterans said their equipment was below the military standard of being 90 percent operational. 35 percent said their Humvees and trucks were not up-armored when they arrived in-country.